CINDERELLA (U)
3 stars
Ella (Lily James) is consigned to the kitchen by her vindictive stepmother, Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), and brattish stepsisters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drizella (Sophie McShera). Emboldened by the dying words of her mother (Hayley Atwell) – “Have courage and be kind” – Ella tries to rise above the bullying.
When the name-calling becomes too frightful, she escapes on horseback
and catches the eye of the dashing Prince (Richard Madden), who must pick a bride at the behest of the dying King (Derek Jacobi).
So the Prince throws a lavish ball where Ella makes her grand entrance then disappears as the clock chimes midnight, leaving behind footwear that would surely pose a health and safety risk in any other film.
Slavishly adapted from Disney’s classic 1950 animated musical, Cinderella will enchant a generation of girls who dream of donning the tiara of a Disney princess. James and Madden are an attractive screen pairing, while Blanchett draws inspiration from Joan Crawford to cast a formidable shadow from beneath the brim of her character’s extravagant hats.
Screenwriter Chris Weitz is shackled to fond memories of the hand-drawn film and, consequently, he has almost no room for flourishes of originality. The plot arc is predetermined, the ugly stepsisters don’t hack off their heels or toes to squeeze into the glass slipper and Helena Bonham Carter’s fairy godmother isn’t quite as eccentric as she or we would like as she engineers the film’s best set-piece with a flick of her wand. Both home formats are packaged with the animated short Frozen Fever.
A LITTLE CHAOS (12)
3 stars
King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman) hires renowned landscape gardener Andre Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) to transform the grounds of Versailles into a fantasia “of exquisite and matchless beauty”.
It is a Herculean task, so Le Notre hires fellow-landscapers to oversee different sections of the garden. Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) catches his eye. She flouts rigid form and prefers a more haphazard approach to her planting. Fellow-labourers including Moulin (Danny Webb) rush to support Sabine in her epic undertaking. The arrival of a lady gardener in the court sets tongues wagging and incurs the wrath of Andre’s jealous wife, Madame Le Notre (Helen McCrory), who plots her revenge.
A Little Chaos is considerably more formal and predictable than the title suggests, but what this lusty period romp lacks in originality it compensates with colourful performances and an uplifting bouquet of courtly intrigues. In the director’s chair, Rickman sows the seeds of our simple enjoyment with a largely British cast led by Oscar-winner Winslet as a spirited landscape gardener who refuses to kowtow to expectations or gender stereotypes.
Onscreen sexual tension with Schoenaerts barely simmers, while McCrory vamps it up to the hilt as the wicked wench who envies Sabine’s ability to impress powerful men with her intellect. Some of Britain’s finest stately homes, estates and mansions, including Blenheim Palace, Cliveden, Hampton Court Palace and Waddesdon Manor, double handsomely for late 17th-century France. Bosoms heave beneath lingering glances, accentuated by loads of eye-catching costumes and composer Peter Gregson’s lively score.